Last night, Sonya and I took part in a service that featured David Ring.  David Ring is an evangelist who travels the nation preaching the gospel.  He is a successful evangelist despite having cerebral palsy.  When he speaks you hang onto every word because he has lived it.

Last night, he spoke on going through hard times and asking God why.  One thing he said stuck in my mind.  When we ask God why, we question His authority.  “Why are you doing this to me, God?”  He reminded us that we do not like it when our kids ask why because it challenges something we have said or done.  Our main response to our kids when they ask why is, “because I said so!”

David Ring challenged us to ask What instead of why.  What will bring You glory out of this situation, God?  My heart was convicted over the many times these last several years I have questioned God over and over.  When I face something, I challenge God’s authority in my life and am upset about what is happening.  We must be honest with God without challenging Him.  There is nothing wrong with telling God how you feel, but in the end we must stop and ask God to perform His perfect will in our lives.  Next time, you deal with some stuff, ask what not why!  This has changed my perspective.

He also talked about how we need to be making deposits in our spiriutal bank account, because one day we will need to withdraw from it.  When we go through struggles in life, we have to draw from our spiritual bank account and when we have made no depostis we will go bankrupt.  He told us that we must make sure that our well stays full so that when we need to draw water it will not be empty.  He reminded us  that if our well is empty, we must change wells.  We must tap into the well with the river of living water.  He said, “Jesus hangs out at the well.”

We live in a world today that is ever changing.  Gas prices go up and the stock market goes down.  Political races are ever-changing.  Church leaders rise and fall.  One day is good, other days might be bad.  Our future is bright but our future is unknown.  It can change at anytime.  Do we look to the future and plan or do we wait for the future to come and then do something?  Life has unexpected turns.

God expects us to have vision in our lives, however, there must always be a determination that no matter what comes our way, we will not be shaken.  I have had many dreams in my life as a pastor, but found sudden changes came and those dreams were never realized.  For years this discouraged me and frustrated me as if God was somehow against me and forgot my destiny.  Then I realized that although I had dreams for the future, only God knew my future.  Dreams and visions are good and give us a goal to pursue in life, but we must submit our wills to God.  The hardest thing in my life has been to pray the prayer, “Lord, even if my dreams never come to pass, I will still serve you with all of my heart.” 

I firmly believe that when we seek the heart of God, He will direct our paths.  He knows what is best for us.  I can remember many dreams of great things that I had and things fell through.  I look back on this and see that God was saving me from something disastrous.  I am trying to learn what my dream is and what God’s dream is for me.  Sometimes they are not the same.  I have made the determination in my life to serve God no matter what.  To follow His leading, to expect the unexpected but to still dream of great things.  Dreams keep us alive, but if your dream is delayed do not let it kill you.  Resign your will to His majesty, He will have His way in you.

Yesterday morning, I preached about marriage and encouraged our families to keep the family in proper order.  Christ at the center, our relationship to our spouse and then our kids.  I challenged our couples to not let the children come in between their relationship. 

At the Cheney house though, we are being tested in this area.  Hannah has become possessive.  I gave Sonya a hug and a kiss and Hannah came over there, pushed me away and said, “My Mama!”  Now every time I get around Sonya, Hannah pushes me away and says, “MINE!”  I am not sure why she started this but I informed her in no uncertain terms last night, that she was going to have to share.  I think she got the message:)

Lately, I have been reading the book Leadership From The Inside Outby Kevin Harney.  It takes you on a journey through the leader’s inner life and looks for areas where we can grow.  In the first chapter, Pastor Harney addresses the leader’s heart.  He declares the need for the heart of every leader to be alive and drawn toward the things of God.  In this chapter he gives a test to see where we might need to sharpen and evaluate the condition of our heart.

Answer with a yes or no:

1.  I minister more out of duty than out of love for God.

2.  I can go days or even weeks without sitting at the feet of Jesus, feeding on His Word, or speaking to Him in prayer.

3.  When I prepare messages, my mind is always focused on what others will learn, and the truth of Scripture rarely pierces my heart or stirs my passion.

4.  When I lead in prayer or pray with others, the words sound right to the casual observer, but they feel hollow or empty to me.

5.  I see the people in my church or ministry as a distraction from getting my work done.

6.  I find myself structuring my life in a way that isolates me from people.

7.  I have become so busy doing church work  that I leave no time to connect with spiritual seekers.

8.  I can’t remember the last time I shed a tear for a lost person.

Anyone else convicted?  I have some areas I need to work on, how about you?

Perry Noble said, “God couldn’t give a RIP about your comfort-He simply wants you to be obedient…and at times that means facing things head on that scare you and completely take you out of your comfort zone.”

If your Christian life is full of easy things, then you need to do something different.  Take a risk for God!

One of the privileges we have as pastors is the call to share the Word of God with this generation.  It is a high calling and we should not take it lightly.  Because of the responsibility that has been laid upon ministers, we must seek every opportunity to hone our craft.  We are mouthpieces for God and if we fail to grow in our skills as a preacher, we fall short of our calling. 

There are several ways that we can ensure that we are growing in our communication:

1.  Prayer – There is no substitute for the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the preaching of the Word of God.  Preaching without the anointing of the Spirit is only a speech.  A prayerless preacher is a powerless preacher.  God help us not be be dependant on our own abilities, we must rely on Him.

2.  Preparation – Study, study, study.  An ill-prepared message is laziness.  We are communicating the life-changing message of Jesus Christ, for us to enter the pulpit with little preparation is taking our calling for granted.  I know we have busy weeks as pastors, but we must make sure that we are preparing to the best of our ability.  Dig for the truth from God’s Word.  Study the history of the text.  Look for something that will impact others lives.

3.  Passion – Be passionate about what you preach.  Let people know that it has affected your life.  If there is no passion in your heart for the message, you can guarantee there will be no passion for them to receive it.  Our messages should stir us before they ever stir anyone else.  Be transparent when you preach.  Let people know that you need that message as much as they do.  Passion is not how loud you preach or even a style of preaching.  Passion is simply you being moved by what you are preaching.

4.  Purpose – There must be a purpose in our preaching.  This is why I like series.  They help stay on a topic that is necessary for the church you minister.  There should always be direction in your message.  If you do not know where you are going, no one else will either.  Let there be purpose in what you communicate.  Will it change lives?  Will it bring maturity?  Will it answer questions biblically or are we only preaching what is fashionable for today?

5.  Practical – Every message should connect people’s everyday lives to the timeless Word of God.  The Bible is relevant and practical for today’s time.  It has the answer to all of life’s issues.  In fact, to be practical we must deal with the whole of the Word of God.  The sin and the promises.  Everything must be introduced in the lives of our congregation.  We should always endeavor to show them how the Word of God applies to where they are today.  The only way for people to find victory is by showing them that God has provided the victory over all of their lives.

6.  Pursuit – Last, our messages should always seek to draw people to a deeper relationship with God.  If they are unbelievers we should point them to salvation in Christ.  If they are believers we must teach them how to grow in their pursuit of Christ-likeness.

In every thing we do as communicators, we must learn that this is a holy calling and one day we will be accountable for how we ministered.  We must be careful that we do not follow the fads of preaching but rather what the Holy Spirit leads us to do in preaching. 

One last thing, it is wise to study other great communicators and see their styles and how they prepare their messages.  I have learned alot by just listening to other preachers.  We should listen, read and pray in our pursuit to become a great communicator.

Today is Sonya’s 36th birthday.  It is interesting to look back and see how fast time has flown in our lives together.  We have almost been married for half of our lifetime.  What a treasure Sonya is to me.  God blessed me with her.  Happy Birthday!

Last week I went to the Tommy Barnett School of Ministry and what an incredible week it was.  When you walk onto the massive campus of a church of that magnitude you cannot help but dream that one day you might be able to accomplish something that awesome.

I witnessed first hand what God can do with surrendered people and what can be done when the foundation of the church is laid with prayer and soul-winning.  Tommy Barnett has definitely built an awesome church.

As I sat in teaching sessions and watched the services, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the hearts of those serving in Phoenix.  They are truly doing things for the glory of God.  I was struck by what Pastor Tommy prayed from the pulpit, “Lord, if we do this for our own glory strike us dead behind this pulpit.”  That is a prayer that was heartfelt.

On Tuesday night, Tommy Barnett did an illustrated message that used drama, music and video to talk about overcoming life’s hardships.  At the conclusion, over 1000 were saved and then nearly 100 were filled with the Holy Spirit.  God is at work.

As I came back to Nederland, my heart was stirred that we need to focus on winning our community to Christ.  God desires for every church to be a soul winning church.  For too long the church has become inclusive…all about us and our membership.  But God isn’t concerned as much about what we have now, He wants to bring new people to Him.  “Lord, help us to be a church built for your honor.”

More on the Tommy Barnett School, next week.